The following is a few of the modifications I did to my XR7. Enjoy!
The nightshades treatment.
They don't make taillight covers for these cars, so I decided to go my own way. I heard about a product called "Nite Shades". It can be found at Jegs.
I bought two cans, but you should only need one. I removed the taillights from the car and went over them many times with alcohol. All wax must be removed! After that, three-four coats were applied and the lights were installed the next day. One month later, they were buffed out.
The result:
The rear-footwell light.
On the rear of the console, there is an ashtray. I don't smoke in my car, and nobody is allowed to smoke in it either. What purpose did the ashtray serve? Hell if I know... I decided to make use of the space. I bought a universal bulb holder and mounted it in the rear of the hole where the ashtray used to be.
If I remember correctly, I drilled a nickel-sized hole for it. Then, I applied reflective tape to the inside of the hole.
After that, I cut custom piece of plastic to make the lense. I used the same type of plastic that is mounted over flourescent lights in buildings with tiled ceilings. This stuff is real brittle. After some dremel work on the plastic, it fit rather well into the hole.
After wiring the light up to the reading lights switch that's already there, it was ready. However, the base of the bulb-holder was pushing against the metal support in the console. I cut a 2x2 square in the support with the dremel and it worked out fine!
The result:
The parking light mod.
I've seen pictures of light mods to the factory parking lights. Usually they were a daytime-running light idea, but this one is a little different.
I used basic lamp-holders with grommets and 8-watt bulbs. I wired them to a remote switch so they could be turned on without the parking lights. The effect is a mellow glow perfect for dusk light or cloudy weather.
The result:
Polishing metals.
I was bored one day and decided to see what I could improve under the hood. I took a scouring pad and went over one of the A/C lines. It takes a while, but it will eventually have a nice shine. Then, I hit it several times with "Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish". The result was so impressive that I used the same technique on the idler pulley, IAB, and brake lines.
The result:
Replacing the ignition switch.
The ignition switch in my car had over 142k miles on it. Due to the fire hazard, I decided to change it. It was a fairly easy task - much easier than what I had expected.
The column under construction:
The old switch:
Custom installation of dog
This took some patience. First, I tried coaxing him into the car. When that failed, a biscuit did the trick.
The result:
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